Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Erin C Westgate; Nicholas R Buttrick; Yijun Lin; Gaelle El Helou; Maximilian Agostini; Jocelyn J Bélanger; Ben Gützkow; Jannis Kreienkamp; Georgios Abakoumkin; Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom; Vjollca Ahmedi; Handan Akkas; Carlos A Almenara; Mohsin Atta; Sabahat Cigdem Bagci; Sima Basel; Edona Berisha Kida; Allan B I Bernardo; Phatthanakit Chobthamkit; Hoon-Seok Choi; Mioara Cristea; Sára Csaba; Kaja Damnjanovic; Ivan Danyliuk; Arobindu Dash; Daniela Di Santo; Karen M Douglas; Violeta Enea; Daiane Gracieli Faller; Gavan Fitzsimons; Alexandra Gheorghiu; Ángel Gómez; Ali Hamaidia; Qing Han; Mai Helmy; Joevarian Hudiyana; Bertus F Jeronimus; Ding-Yu Jiang; Veljko Jovanović; Željka Kamenov; Anna Kende; Shian-Ling Keng; Tra Thi Thanh Kieu; Yasin Koc; Kamila Kovyazina; Inna Kozytska; Joshua Krause; Arie W Kruglanski; Anton Kurapov; Maja Kutlaca; Nóra Anna Lantos; Edward P Lemay; Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana; Winnifred R Louis; Adrian Lueders; Marta Maj; Najma Iqbal Malik; Anton Martinez; Kira O McCabe; Jasmina Mehulić; Mirra Noor Milla; Idris Mohammed; Erica Molinario; Manuel Moyano; Hayat Muhammad; Silvana Mula; Hamdi Muluk; Solomiia Myroniuk; Reza Najafi; Claudia F Nisa; Boglárka Nyúl; Paul A O'Keefe; Jose Javier Olivas Osuna; Evgeny N Osin; Joonha Park; Gennaro Pica; Antonio Pierro; Jonas Rees; Anne Margit Reitsema; Elena Resta; Marika Rullo; Michelle K Ryan; Adil Samekin; Pekka Santtila; Edyta Sasin; Birga M Schumpe; Heyla A Selim; Michael Vicente Stanton; Wolfgang Stroebe; Robbie M Sutton; Eleftheria Tseliou; Akira Utsugi; Jolien Anne van Breen; Caspar J Van Lissa; Kees Van Veen; Michelle R vanDellen; Alexandra Vázquez; Robin Wollast; null Et Al

doi:10.1037/emo0001118

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Erin C Westgate, Nicholas R Buttrick, Yijun Lin, Gaelle El Helou, Maximilian Agostini, Jocelyn J Bélanger, Ben Gützkow, Jannis Kreienkamp, Georgios Abakoumkin, Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom, Vjollca Ahmedi, Handan Akkas, Carlos A Almenara, Mohsin Atta, Sabahat Cigdem Bagci, Sima Basel, Edona Berisha Kida, Allan B I Bernardo, Phatthanakit Chobthamkit, Hoon-Seok ChoiMioara Cristea, Sára Csaba, Kaja Damnjanovic, Ivan Danyliuk, Arobindu Dash, Daniela Di Santo, Karen M Douglas, Violeta Enea, Daiane Gracieli Faller, Gavan Fitzsimons, Alexandra Gheorghiu, Ángel Gómez, Ali Hamaidia, Qing Han, Mai Helmy, Joevarian Hudiyana, Bertus F Jeronimus, Ding-Yu Jiang, Veljko Jovanović, Željka Kamenov, Anna Kende, Shian-Ling Keng, Tra Thi Thanh Kieu, Yasin Koc, Kamila Kovyazina, Inna Kozytska, Joshua Krause, Arie W Kruglanski, Anton Kurapov, Maja Kutlaca, Nóra Anna Lantos, Edward P Lemay, Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana, Winnifred R Louis, Adrian Lueders, Marta Maj, Najma Iqbal Malik, Anton Martinez, Kira O McCabe, Jasmina Mehulić, Mirra Noor Milla, Idris Mohammed, Erica Molinario, Manuel Moyano, Hayat Muhammad, Silvana Mula, Hamdi Muluk, Solomiia Myroniuk, Reza Najafi, Claudia F Nisa, Boglárka Nyúl, Paul A O'Keefe, Jose Javier Olivas Osuna, Evgeny N Osin, Joonha Park, Gennaro Pica, Antonio Pierro, Jonas Rees, Anne Margit Reitsema, Elena Resta, Marika Rullo, Michelle K Ryan, Adil Samekin, Pekka Santtila, Edyta Sasin, Birga M Schumpe, Heyla A Selim, Michael Vicente Stanton, Wolfgang Stroebe, Robbie M Sutton, Eleftheria Tseliou, Akira Utsugi, Jolien Anne van Breen, Caspar J Van Lissa, Kees Van Veen, Michelle R vanDellen, Alexandra Vázquez, Robin Wollast, Et Al

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2370-2384
Number of pages	15
Journal	Emotion
Volume	23
Issue number	8
Early online date	Mar 13 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001118
Publication status	Published - Mar 13 2023

Keywords

COVID-19
Simpson’s paradox
emotion
public health
self-regulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Psychology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1037/emo0001118

Cite this

Westgate, E. C., Buttrick, N. R., Lin, Y., El Helou, G., Agostini, M., Bélanger, J. J., Gützkow, B., Kreienkamp, J., Abakoumkin, G., Abdul Khaiyom, J. H., Ahmedi, V., Akkas, H., Almenara, C. A., Atta, M., Bagci, S. C., Basel, S., Berisha Kida, E., Bernardo, A. B. I., Chobthamkit, P., ... Et Al (2023). Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries. Emotion, 23(8), 2370-2384. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001118

Westgate, EC, Buttrick, NR, Lin, Y, El Helou, G, Agostini, M, Bélanger, JJ, Gützkow, B, Kreienkamp, J, Abakoumkin, G, Abdul Khaiyom, JH, Ahmedi, V, Akkas, H, Almenara, CA, Atta, M, Bagci, SC, Basel, S, Berisha Kida, E, Bernardo, ABI, Chobthamkit, P, Choi, H-S, Cristea, M, Csaba, S, Damnjanovic, K, Danyliuk, I, Dash, A, Di Santo, D, Douglas, KM, Enea, V, Faller, DG, Fitzsimons, G, Gheorghiu, A, Gómez, Á, Hamaidia, A, Han, Q, Helmy, M, Hudiyana, J, Jeronimus, BF, Jiang, D-Y, Jovanović, V, Kamenov, Ž, Kende, A, Keng, S-L, Kieu, TTT, Koc, Y, Kovyazina, K, Kozytska, I, Krause, J, Kruglanski, AW, Kurapov, A, Kutlaca, M, Lantos, NA, Lemay, EP, Lesmana, CBJ, Louis, WR, Lueders, A, Maj, M, Malik, NI, Martinez, A, McCabe, KO, Mehulić, J, Milla, MN, Mohammed, I, Molinario, E, Moyano, M, Muhammad, H, Mula, S, Muluk, H, Myroniuk, S, Najafi, R, Nisa, CF, Nyúl, B, O'Keefe, PA, Olivas Osuna, JJ, Osin, EN, Park, J, Pica, G, Pierro, A, Rees, J, Reitsema, AM, Resta, E, Rullo, M, Ryan, MK, Samekin, A, Santtila, P, Sasin, E, Schumpe, BM, Selim, HA, Stanton, MV, Stroebe, W, Sutton, RM, Tseliou, E, Utsugi, A, van Breen, JA, Van Lissa, CJ, Van Veen, K, vanDellen, MR, Vázquez, A, Wollast, R & Et Al 2023, 'Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries', Emotion, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 2370-2384. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001118

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title = "Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries",

abstract = "Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine",

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doi = "10.1037/emo0001118",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Pandemic boredom

T2 - Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

AU - Westgate, Erin C

AU - Buttrick, Nicholas R

AU - Lin, Yijun

AU - El Helou, Gaelle

AU - Agostini, Maximilian

AU - Bélanger, Jocelyn J

AU - Gützkow, Ben

AU - Kreienkamp, Jannis

AU - Abakoumkin, Georgios

AU - Abdul Khaiyom, Jamilah Hanum

AU - Ahmedi, Vjollca

AU - Akkas, Handan

AU - Almenara, Carlos A

AU - Atta, Mohsin

AU - Bagci, Sabahat Cigdem

AU - Basel, Sima

AU - Berisha Kida, Edona

AU - Bernardo, Allan B I

AU - Chobthamkit, Phatthanakit

AU - Choi, Hoon-Seok

AU - Cristea, Mioara

AU - Csaba, Sára

AU - Damnjanovic, Kaja

AU - Danyliuk, Ivan

AU - Dash, Arobindu

AU - Di Santo, Daniela

AU - Douglas, Karen M

AU - Enea, Violeta

AU - Faller, Daiane Gracieli

AU - Fitzsimons, Gavan

AU - Gheorghiu, Alexandra

AU - Gómez, Ángel

AU - Hamaidia, Ali

AU - Han, Qing

AU - Helmy, Mai

AU - Hudiyana, Joevarian

AU - Jeronimus, Bertus F

AU - Jiang, Ding-Yu

AU - Jovanović, Veljko

AU - Kamenov, Željka

AU - Kende, Anna

AU - Keng, Shian-Ling

AU - Kieu, Tra Thi Thanh

AU - Koc, Yasin

AU - Kovyazina, Kamila

AU - Kozytska, Inna

AU - Krause, Joshua

AU - Kruglanski, Arie W

AU - Kurapov, Anton

AU - Kutlaca, Maja

AU - Lantos, Nóra Anna

AU - Lemay, Edward P

AU - Lesmana, Cokorda Bagus Jaya

AU - Louis, Winnifred R

AU - Lueders, Adrian

AU - Maj, Marta

AU - Malik, Najma Iqbal

AU - Martinez, Anton

AU - McCabe, Kira O

AU - Mehulić, Jasmina

AU - Milla, Mirra Noor

AU - Mohammed, Idris

AU - Molinario, Erica

AU - Moyano, Manuel

AU - Muhammad, Hayat

AU - Mula, Silvana

AU - Muluk, Hamdi

AU - Myroniuk, Solomiia

AU - Najafi, Reza

AU - Nisa, Claudia F

AU - Nyúl, Boglárka

AU - O'Keefe, Paul A

AU - Olivas Osuna, Jose Javier

AU - Osin, Evgeny N

AU - Park, Joonha

AU - Pica, Gennaro

AU - Pierro, Antonio

AU - Rees, Jonas

AU - Reitsema, Anne Margit

AU - Resta, Elena

AU - Rullo, Marika

AU - Ryan, Michelle K

AU - Samekin, Adil

AU - Santtila, Pekka

AU - Sasin, Edyta

AU - Schumpe, Birga M

AU - Selim, Heyla A

AU - Stanton, Michael Vicente

AU - Stroebe, Wolfgang

AU - Sutton, Robbie M

AU - Tseliou, Eleftheria

AU - Utsugi, Akira

AU - van Breen, Jolien Anne

AU - Van Lissa, Caspar J

AU - Van Veen, Kees

AU - vanDellen, Michelle R

AU - Vázquez, Alexandra

AU - Wollast, Robin

AU - Et Al, null

PY - 2023/3/13

Y1 - 2023/3/13

N2 - Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine

AB - Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional “lockdown”) may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine

KW - COVID-19

KW - Simpson’s paradox

KW - emotion

KW - public health

KW - self-regulation

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Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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